Following an impressive start at the Central District Invitational, the North Carolina women’s golf team continued its second spring season game at the Darius Rucker Invitational in Hilton Head, S.C. The Tar Heels finished 10th out of 17 teams and look to learn from their mistakes on the green.
First-year Brynn Walker found success early, shooting an impressive 2-over par in the first round.
“I was really confident in my swing,” Walker said. “The toughest thing there was I didn’t have any birdies, and I struggled with the putters. But overall, ball striking was the reason why I played well.”
Through the first two rounds, the Tar Heels shot a team score of 596, 28-over par, which placed them ninth overall on the second day. Sophomore Kelly Whaley continued her impressive play and finished the second round 2-over par, which led the team.
“I saw some positive things, but I obviously saw some things that we can do better,” head coach Jan Mann said. “Long Cove is a difficult course because of the green structure, and there always seems to be some strong wind.”
During the second round on Saturday, many players found that to be the problem and struggled to account for strong winds. Senior Leslie Cloots found her rhythm late in the second rate and finished with a second round score of 78, 7-over par.
“There were some strong winds and it wasn’t always the same,” Cloots said. “So paying attention to what the wind does, where you are, the trees, and seeing where the ball were really important.”
At the final round on Sunday, North Carolina shot a team score of 301, 17-over par, which dropped them one rank to 10.
Cloots, who finished 61st overall, was disappointed in her play, but hopes to learn from her experiences at Darius Rucker.